Thursday, July 8, 2010

So, I got an email yesterday from my dear friend and fellow author Ginger Simpson, informing me that she'd given me an award--well, actually two awards. One for being a "versatile blogger" and the other a "you are my sunshine" award.

First of all, thank you, Ginger! I'm honored that you'd think of me in these terms.

When I read further, though, I discover that these awards come with strings attached! These are the blog equivalent of chain letters. I'm now supposed to convey these two awards on fifteen people (for the first award) and five people (for the second).

Sigh. I don't know that many people! I've always been shy, and even on-line, I'm more retiring than most of my colleagues. (It's really hard for me to get up and yell "Buy my book!!" -- even when I think that you should!) To make things worse, quite a few of the people I thought about passing the award to are already on Ginger's list, since she and I share a publisher.

What to do? I don't want to disappoint Ginger. So I decided that I'd break--well, modify--the rules a bit. I'm supposed to tell you seven things about myself that you don't already know. I can do that. Then I'll award the Versatile award to five people and the Sunshine award to just one.

I do hope that will satisfy the powers that be!

So, first things first. Seven new things about Lisabet Sarai:

1. I may have the world's flattest feet. No arches at all. This pretty much zapped my childhood dream of being an astronaut.

2. I can sing most of the songs from at least a dozen musicals. Not to mention quite a few torch songs from the forties. (No, I'm not that old; I learned them from my mom!)

3. I've always dreamed of being a red head. You know, passionate, quick-witted, all that. Obviously I could color my hair, but that wouldn't do it. However, the heroine in my first novel is the red head I always wanted to be.

4. I love to cook. But I hate to follow recipes. I'm what you call "improvisational" in the kitchen.

And the You are My Sunshine award? This is for "community support". Well, this is hard. But I think I have to award this to the Erotica Readers and Writers Association, which of course is not an individual. ERWA offers a forum for aspiring authors, writers and critique groups, and every month, an exceptional collection of how to articles as well as a comprehensive, continually updated listing of markets for erotica and erotic romance. If that isn't support, I don't know what is!